-Dallen

First build?  Really?   The hull is looking pretty good and you're choice of materials is interesting.   I'm gong to follow along to see what's next.

To fix the 'flexibility' problem, I also added some wood (balsa - I know it's not the best, but it was easy to find, easy to glue, and really easy to sand) between the bulkheads.
 

 

 

 
This made all the fairing thing much easier... (improvised sand block in the lastpicture...     )
 
The problem with the wood-covered styrene deck is that it's really flat. I could sand it to give it a more natural curve, but instead I thought of something else...
 
I had some thick card paper lying around so I improvised some deck planking on top of it... Also, it's not the standard deck planking pattern (I only found a tutorial on deck planking a long way after I had done it).
 
It's a bit out of scale but whatever, it's already pretty small for me      ... 
 
 
 

some pictures

Good evening everyone
 
The kit is ordered, the Deluxe PE kits is not available in the UK at present, should be another couple of weeks
The Victory is safe and secure for a while, and will be finished
The Workroom has had a bit of a make over as well, i put a window in at the weekend, at last i have some natural light in there and a different carpet as the one i had, it was impossible to find anything when dropped onto it, 
 
research 
 
http://www.ipmsstockholm.se/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2250&start=30
http://www.kbismarck.com/models/
 
http://3dhistory.de/wordpress/3d-models/dkm-bismarck/bismarck-high-res
 
http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=144178
http://www.bismarck-class.dk/shipmodels/shipmodels_menu.html
https://www.facebook.com/BismaarckModell148Scale/photos_stream
http://www.bismarck-class.dk/shipmodels/shipmodels_menu.html

Hi All,
 
Firstly, thank you Don and Nick for stopping by and of course to all for the likes.  Nick, looking forward to seeing the start of your build....please start soon! 
 
So, some progress as the bulkhead former has been assembled. Took a few days to remove a slight warp in the pieces by dampening them and weighting them down on a flat board. The rabbet strip was glued to the center of the former after shaping it follow the bow shape using some light heat.
 
While the former was being flattened, the stem was assembled.  It took some time to remove the angles formed on the cut faces by the laser cutter so they would fit together evenly. Shaping was slowly done using needle files and often checking both sides for fit by holding them together flat on a glass plate. The 3rd image shows the pieces in a test fit. 
 
Following Chuck's instructions, I then stained all the pieces before gluing. I already had some Minmax Golden Pecan stain so tried a test piece after a light sanding to clean up the basswood surface. After 2 coats, with each left 15 mins before removing the excess, the basswood was a nice warm red/gold color. I hope you like it!  The last two pictures show the stem after staining and glueing along with my reference piece.  I plan to use this reference through the build to try and keep the color consistent.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Hi All,
 
Welcome to the start of my build log of the USF Confederacy from Model Ship Shipways as designed by Chuck Passaro.
 
Her full history has been summarized in Chuck’s fabulously detailed instructions which can be downloaded from the Model Shipways site.  Suffice it to say here that the Confederacy was an unlucky ship, surviving some actions, hurricanes and collisions before being captured by HMS Roebuck and Orpheus in April 1781 and taken into the British Navy as HMS Confederate.  However, while only 2 years old, inspections showed a great deal of rot, probably due to the use of green timber during her construction. She was then broken up, but her lines were at least preserved by the British Admirality. Below is a Revolutionary painting of the Confederacy from the Navy Art Gallery at the Washington Navy Yard. 
 

 
My impressions of the kit are very favorable. The kit arrived very well packaged with all items present. I’ve already mentioned the great instructions, but the plan sheets are also extremely clear. All the wooden parts are laser cut and the etched brass and cast metal parts are nicely detailed. I am perhaps fortunate as all the more fragile parts are intact, like the figurehead and ships wheels. Images of kit contents and parts are below. 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
The Confederacy’s rigging plan has not survived, but I do plan to fully rig her following the plans by Crothers. The exception are the belaying points as Chuck has kindly warned me the Crothers belaying plan is incorrect. So, following his advice, I will be working out the belaying points using other contempory frigates as a guide.
 

 
This will be a long build and all advice and help will be most appreciated. I will certainly be referencing all the other great Confederacy build logs to help me along the way so my thanks in advance here! 
 
My dream for this build is to try and bring the Navy Art Gallery painting to life! I hope you find some time to stop by and enjoy this voyage with me!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Howdy,
 
This is my first build and thought I would share the experience on here as I am sure there will be lots to share with others new builders and lots learn from you folks. I know the forums suggest going easy with the first build, but I inevitably regret not getting what my heart is set on with these types of projects, and will all of the online support and my own commitment to doing a good job and researching plenty, I just jumped right in with the HMS Surprise kit. These were the main reasons(for those new builders grappling with the same situation)
 
-I wanted something in as large a scale as possible and 1:48 was appealing
-I wanted something imposing, artful and sentimental to display in the home
-I thought the Surprise was very visually appealing and had enough detail and accessories to be interesting, but wasn't as daunting as 100+ HMS Victory cannons for instance.
-The kit had very good reviews, online support, build logs and INSTRUCTIONS:)
-I wanted the kit to have a full complement of rigging and sails.
 
So that's it. On to the build.
 
Note: I started the build 2 months ago and took tons of pics along the way in case I decided to do a build log. I'm currently finished with the upper decking and inside planking, and starting the many upper decks accessories. I'll post pics and comments in chronological order until caught up, then it'll slow down significantly to real time progress lol.
 
I appreciate any comments and tips...thanks.

With Kurt's encouragement I am stepping into the Darkside of scratch building a boat and I might add much sooner than I thought. This build will run in tandem with my Constitution build. 
 
This build is a commission for the local Maritime Museum here in Morro Bay in which the building is in the process of starting to build with a targeted completion date of October to correspond with the Boat Festival.
 
They have requested a 1 inch to the foot scale model with an overall size of 32" long.
 
My first step was to laminate together 1/16" thick x 3" Basswood sheets to the plan size of the deck. The real boat was a local marine grade plywood build with a Cummings diesel engine. I did enough of the CAD drawings to get off to a good start and I use the CAD prints as patterns to cut out parts as seen in some of the following build pictures. 
 
I am not new to scratch building models and the interesting thing is that there are no instructions and plans unless you obtain them or draw them. I use CorelCAD to make the basic rough drawings and then print out what I need as I progress and often refer back to the CAD files as I build for dimensions. One thing about scratch building is that it is much like playing chess and one has to be two or three steps ahead so as not to build yourself into a bad situation. The other thing that happens is off hand building in space and building in structure as you go.
 
Here are images of the build start on Saturday beginning with the sheet glue up and building in structure with rails and flanges to strengthen the deck sheet.
 

 

 
To establish the deck curve I built up the transom and will progress building from the stern.
 
 
 
The transom flange was cut to 87 degrees relative to the deck. The beauty of having the CAD file is exact degrees when measured in the computer file.
 

 
Here the rails and flanges were added for strength and hull set back indexing edges with the flanges.
 

 
Next I moved onto bulkhead #8 which is angled and forms the rear wall of the cabin. I also pre cut the hatch door and taped it back in place to maintain part geometry. The horizontal supports for the working deck has been added to #8 as well as the inside of the transom aligning with the supper holes.
 

 
Next I made a 105 degree jig for the bulk head this will be used to develop the geometry for the false interior that will be blacked out. I will attempt to have a work hatch door with sliding access panel.
 

 
Next I plan to move to the forward cabin for additional structure and strength  before moving to the hull.
 
 

You might try this site for figures; Click on Accessory Items and then figures.
 
http://www.taubmansonline.com
 
Little pricey but I found some pretty good ones.
 
Dupree

Hi,
 
One question about frame construction. The Triton's keel was layed down in 1771 and according to Peter Goodwin between 1750-1811 the 1st futtocks ended in a scarph against the keel and a cross chock as used to fasten the two and the assembly to the keel. On the plans the two 1st futtocks are actually very similar to two half floors. In this case (again according to Peter Goodwin) they would be fastened to each other and to the keel by coaks, this was the method of construction between 1811-1850. So the question is: where the plans simplified so "first times" like me could actually build the cross section and I'm over complicating or is there and alternate method of construction? I'm sure Peter Goodwin's word is not the only one and it's not final.
 
Thanks

There are quite a few references in the build logs that were rescued from the crash to the fact that the cross-section was designed to give beginners a feel for planking and framing. Amongst these there are a number of differences from the full build in order to make it all simpler. There are some specific statements about the changes, but I've forgotten what they are. I am sure you'll be getting specific information from others pretty shortly!
 
As for me, I've been making my cross-section even simpler by following the existing plans in the most basic way, not making the limber strakes accurately, leaving out treenails, not rounding off the top of the hatch etc., but I really admire people such as yourself who try to make this project as interesting as possible, and as perfect as possible -- I learn a lot from such builds.
 
Tony

I am amaized at the research and prepotory work involved in scratch building. I have just now completed my full set of 1:32 prints for this build. They are printed out on 13 X 19 paper (perfect for this scale) using a Canon IX6820 printer. Since printing a sacrificial set of plans I have cut out the paper and in process of attaching them to wood stock in preparation to cutting them out. Hopefully actual shipbuilding can start this coming week.
 
Dupree

Update.... Milled Keel assembly in 1:32 scale. Have included a photo to show the contrast in dimensions. I'm currently preparing the frames for layout and cutting. Quite an experience for me and this is only a cross section.
 
Dupree

I decided that I would make this my initial build. This build will introduce me to most aspects of model building. I will be using Walnut as my primary lumber as a large walnut tree was blown over on my property last summer and it seems to resaw nicely. I also have a nice supply of Maple and Swiss Pear.  I am considering upscaling to 1:32 and is likely. I have been like a sponge absorbing everything I can on this forum and have built quite a resource library. Looking forward to the hands on now. I handle critiques well, so all are welcome.
 
Dupree

covered with oil:


 
after drying oil tinting:




 
Everything. And so it did:


 
Sincerely, Alexander
 
 
 
 
 
 

A very exciting journey through the eyes of an accomplished machinist and tool maker. Although most of us will never achieve this extreme level of tool making, it is an amazing example of work that can't be ignored. What a group of artisans who add new meaning to "We can build nearly anything from very little."

beginning underwater casing

No less than two months of work ahead ... stamp sheets underwater routers endless panels.
Older vise broke. That bought new that will break the already problematic.

I began to stamp sheets underwater casing ...

Slow progress. I continue to work with fine poverhnostyami.Izgotavlivayu stamp and press sheets for the underwater part.

Finally the hull is fully formed and prepared for final trim.

I did the "rough" deck and brackets.

Made seats mast mounting. This design allows you to quickly retrieve the mast of a model for the transport and quickly assemble at the site of exposure or storage.

Polishing for finish trim ... probably the most intelligent process, especially when a large ship model ...

Nils
 
I found a very good brass pipes in the network. different diameters, good brass (LS 63) of the pipe body thickness of 1 mm. These pipes will be very necessary for the manufacture of ventilation ducts and other parts. He spent almost 200 euros. However, I had to buy three times more than necessary. Diller sells pipe only 3 meters long! I had to buy more than is necessary.
 
 
http://olx.ua/obyavlenie/truba-latunnaya-8h1-10h2-12h3-16h1-19h1-22h1-l63-l68-l90-l96-IDjwSAV.html#c657a4385f